Combination coat and skirt hanger



Sept. 20, 1955 B. E. LUNDMAN 2,718,340

COMBINATION COAT AND SKIRT HANGER Filed May 4, 1953 INVENTOR.

5.5. Lu/vwwm United States Patent COMBINATION COAT AND SKIRT HANGER Ben Ervin Lundman, Mount Vernon, Wash.

Application May 4, 1953, Serial No. 352,686

6 Claims. (Cl. 223-88) This invention relates to clothes hangers and has reference more particularly to a combination coat and skirt hanger.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a combination hanger of the above character wherein coacting parts of the skirt hanger portion are adapted, when contracted, to be received within the waist band portion of a skirt and then to be extended to engage the band for support of the skirt, and wherein an easily releasable means is provided for retaining the skirt hanger members in their extended positions of support.

More specifically stated, the present invention resides in the details of construction of the skirt hanger portion of the device, together with the provision of an easily releasable lock or clutch plate that will automatically engage the extended parts of the hanger to hold them in skirt supporting position.

Other objects of the invention reside in the details of construction of the parts comprised in the combination, and in their mode of assembly and use, as will hereinafter be fully described.

In accomplishing the above mentioned and other objects of the invention, 1 have provided the improved details of construction, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a clothes hanger embodying the improvements of the present invention therein and indicating, in dotted lines, a skirt as held by the extended, coacting skirt hanger members.

Fig. 2 is a view of a device showing a coat hanger, or upper portion, of an alternative form of construction.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional detail of the lock or clutch plate as applied to rods that constitute the extendable parts of the skirt hanger, the view being taken on line 33 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken on the line 44 in Fig. 3.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

The device, of the present invention, comprises an upper portion, designated as the coat hanger portion of the combination, and a lower or skirt hanger portion which is suspended from the upper portion. The coat hanger portion, as seen in the device of Fig. 1, is made from a single length of stiff wire, that is bent substantially into the form of an isosceles triangle and comprises a horizontal base member 10, and upwardly sloping opposite side members 11 and 11 that are joined at the vertex of the triangle by twisting their end portions together, as shown at 12; one end portion being extended beyond the other and bent to provide a supporting hook 13 for the device.

The skirt hanger portion comprises a pair of laterally spaced skirt holding legs, designated in their entireties, respectively, by reference numerals 15 and 15x. Each leg comprises a substantially vertically directed lower end portion 15a, with an angularly turned and inwardly directed upper end portion 15b. Each of the lower leg portions 15a terminates in a circularly formed loop 16 that extends outwardly from the line of the vertical part, as well shown in Fig. 1, and each of the upper end por- 2,718,340 Patented Sept. 20, 1955 tions 1511' terminates in a transversely turned and downwardly opening hook 18 that is hooked over the horizontal base member 10 of the coat hanger portion. As thus supported, the two legs 15 and 15.1: are easily slidable inwardly or outwardly along the member 10 to permit their adjustment to a reduced spacing for application of a skirt thereto, and to an extended spacing as required for adapting the hanger for the support of skirts of different waist measurements. It will be observed, by reference to Fig. 1, that the paired, allochiral leg members 15 and 15x are of the same size and depend in the plane of the triangular coat hanger portion.

Welded to opposite sides of the leg 15, at the same level and just below the angular bend where the parts 151: and 15b thereof are joined, are the outer ends of two parallel rods 20-20 that extend from that leg directly toward the opposite leg 15x; these rods having a length which is about two-thirds the length of the base member 10 of the coat hanger. Likewise, a single rod 22 is welded at its outer end to the leg 15x, just below the bend therein, and it extends from that leg directly toward the opposite leg. The two rods 2020 are joined at their inner ends in a transversely turned and downwardly directed open loop 23 through which the rod 22 is slidably extended. Thus, in their overlapped relationship, the rods 2020 and 22 assume the extendable and retractable relationship in which they have been shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4.

In applying a skirt to the skirt hanger for support, the legs 15 and 15.\' are first adjusted to reduced spacing, for example, as indicated by their dotted line positions of Fig. 1. Then a skirt that is to be supported, a part of which is designated in dash lines in Fig. l by numeral 24, is lifted to position by grasping its waist band at diametrically opposite sides and the lower portions of the two legs are caused to be received within the waist band portion, then they are moved apart by sliding them outwardly along opposite end portions of the hanger rod 10, thus causing them to draw the skirt band tight, as indicated in Fig. l. The paired legs are then held in this extended relationship by means of an easily releasable lock or clutch plate 25 that is applied to the parallel and overlapping rods 2020 and 22, as well shown in Fig. l.

The plate 25 comprises a single piece of fiat metal, bent between its ends at an angle of about Formed in one wing of the plate, here referred to as the upright wing 25a, are two horizontally aligned, circular holes 26-26 through which the rods 2020 are extended; these holes being slightly larger in diameter than the rods. Below the level of the two holes 2626, this same wing of the plate is formed with a vertically extending slot 28 through which the end portion of rod 22 passes to overlie the lower wing 25b of the clutch plate. This inner end portion of rod 22 is turned directly downward, as at 29, and is directed through a hole 30 in the horizontally directed Wing 25b of the plate, and is therein anchored against release by an enlargement or knob 31 on the lower end of the downturned portion.

It is to be explained, however, that the connection between the downturned end portion of rod 22 and the clutch plate 25 permits a certain rocking movement of the plate relative to the rods. For example, it can be rocked or tilted between the full line and dotted line positions in which it is shown in Fig. 4.

Assuming then that the two legs 15 and 15x have been placed within the waistband of the skirt that is to be supported as shown in Fig. l, the operator grasps the upper end portions of the legs and pulls them apart in such manner as to cause their lower end portions to place the waist band under tension. White the two legs are being moved apart, the rod 22 causes the clutch plate 25 to slide inwardly along the two rods 20-20, and to be tilted by reason of this movement to the dotted line position of Fig. 4. However, when the operators outward pull on the legs is discontinued, the tension of the skirt band slightly retracts the rods 2020 and rod 22 to eflect a relative inward movement. With this slight retracting adjustment of the hanger members, the rod 22 causes the clutch plate 25 to be canted from the dotted line position of Fig. 4, to the full line position, and in doing this to cause the metal of the plate 25 at the upper and lower edge portions of the openings 2626 through which the rods 20-20 pass, to bite into the rods and to so grip them as to hold the two legs 15 and 15x against further retracting movement toward each other. Thus, the skirt will be held in suspension by the two vertically depending portions of the paired legs 15 and 15x.

When it is desired to remove the shirt from support, the operator merely pushes down on the free end of wing 25b of the plate 25, in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4, thus causing it to be rocked relative to the rods 2020 to a position to release the grip of the plate 25 thereon and permit the legs l5--l5.r to move freely toward each other on cross-rod 1'0, thus freeing the skirt from their support.

In Fig. 2, I have shown an alternative construction in so far as the coat hanger portion is concerned. In this structure the cross rod 10 has been eliminated and the parts 1111 thereof are extended slidably through loops 40 that are formed on the free ends of the upper portions of the paired legs 15*15x instead of the hooks 18 as shown in Fig. 1. To prevent their disconnection, the outer ends of the parts 1111 are bent into loops 41 which serve as stops over which the loops 40 cannot pass.

The parts 1111 of the coat hanger member in Fig. 2 are not rigidly joined together as by the twisted connection shown in Fig. l, but are brought into parallel relationship and formed into a supporting hook 13. The manner of use of the devices of Fig. 2 is the same as that of Fig. 1. Each is relatively inexpensive to make, easy to apply, light in weight and very satisfactory for its in tended uses. For the greater part, each is made from stilt wire of the kind now generally used for the making of wire hangers.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A garment hanger comprising an upper supporting member, a pair of laterally spaced, coacting legs mounted thereby for relative adjustment from and toward each other and equipped with garment engaging lower end portions, leg spacing rods fixed at their outer ends to said legs, respectively, and extended therefrom, with their inner end portions substantially parallel and in overlapped relationship, a clutch plate provided with a hole through which the inner end portion of one of said rods is extended with slight clearance and the inner end of the other of said rods secured to the plate in a loose, pivotal connection whereby it will be canted and thus caused to effect a holding connection with the rod on which it is mounted, incident to an inward pressure applied to the legs.

2. A garment hanger comprising an upper supporting member including a substantially horizontal cross-rod, and

a lower member comprising a pair of laterally spaced and downwardly directed legs, with means at their upper Cltds mounting them on said cross-rod for sliding adjustment therealong from and toward each other, leg spacing rods With their outer ends fixed respectively to said legs and having their inner end portions substantially parallel and extended in overlapped relationship, a clutch plate 1novable along one of said rods and formed with a hole through which the inner end portion of said rod extends with slight clearance, and the inner end of the other rod secured to the plate in a loose, pivotal connection whereby the clutch plate will be caused to be canted incident to an inward pressure applied to the legs, thus to effect a holding connection with the other rod and the retention of the legs against further movement toward each other.

3. A garment hanger comprising an upper supporting member including a substantially horizontal cross-rod, and a lower member comprising a pair of laterally spaced and downwardly directed legs adapted to have their lower end portions received within the waist band portion of a garment for its support, and equipped with means at their upper ends whereby they are mounted on said cross-rod for sliding adjustment therealong to establish their spaced relationship, a single rod fixed to one leg and extended therefrom toward the opposite leg, a pair of rods fixed to said other leg and extended therefrom at the same level toward the opposite leg in overlapped relationship with the said single rod, and a clutch plate mounted on said pair of rods, and comprising an upper portion formed with a pair of laterally spaced holes through which the inner end portions of said pair of rods are slidably extended; said holes being of such size that slight canting of the plate relative to the paired rods will cause it to grip and hold its position thereon; said plate having a pivotal holding connection at its lower end with the inner end of said single rod whereby canting of the clutch plate can be effected by an inward telescoping adjustment of the said single and paired rods.

4. A device as in claim 3 wherein the said paired rods are joined by a loop through which the inner end portion of the single rod is extended.

5. A device as recited in claim 3 wherein said clutch plate has its lower end portion angularly bent to extend toward the leg to which said paired rods are attached, and a hole formed in the clutch plate within which the end of the single rod is fixed with sufficient looseness to permit the canting of the upper portion of the plate from a perpendicular relationship to the paired rods.

6. A device as recited in claim 5 wherein the upper portion of the clutch plate is formed with an opening through which the single rod extends with clearance, and wherein said single rod has a downturned end portion that is pivoted in the hole of said lower end portion of the plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,897,078 Sjowail Feb. 14, 1933 2,345,398 Isaacson Mar. 28, 1944 2,462,719 Byrd Feb. 22, 1949 

